Lady Of Justice
by IAmMattis
Summary: Following the murders of both her husband and daughters, Angela Coleman returns to the city that never sleeps a changed woman. She will bring justice to those who have robbed her of a normal life with extreme prejudice. Justice will best served cold. Inspired by the Punisher so expect a crossover with Marvel Cinematic Universe
1. Disclaimer

Disclaimer

I don't own Blue Bloods, Marvel, or anything else, only my Original Characters and their story arcs.


	2. Teaser

_A brown haired woman in her late 30 was demolishing the concrete floor with a sledgehammer, her face twisted in determination with her emerald green eyes showing controllable rage._

 _Erin Reagan:"All the things that I'd done."_

 _Each hit on the floor takes her mind back to her tour in Fallujah and Shield where she had fought and killed countless lives. Some were to protect her life others were in cold blood._

 _Frank Reagan: "Memories, they never hurt me."_

 _She continued to pound the cement floor, thinking back to her family which contained of herself, her husband and her daughter but also about the tragic day which fueled her anger as she was close to completing her artwork._

 _Danny Reagan: "But the past... it's more than memories."_

 _Her mind was filled with nightmares which were reincarnation of her family's murders time and time again. It's a never ending cycle._

 _Nicki Reagan-Boyle: "It's the devil you sold your soul to."_

 _She thought back to her confronting her CO for withholding vital information regarding an assignment and her war against crime. she had now completed her art, feeling a sense of pride for what she'd set out to accomplish._

 _Jamie Reagan:"He's comin'."_

 _She dropped the sledgehammer and left the room calmly as her work showed a carved signature logo of Lady Punisher._

 _Angela Coleman: "He's comin' to collect."_

 **Lady of Justice**

 **Justice will best served cold.**

 **AN: leave a review.**


	3. Prologue

**Prologue**

 _AN: Warning, the following story may contain graphic scenes, blood and violence, viewer discretion is advised. I do not own the rights to the show, CBS, Marvel comics or the Marvel Netflix shows. Only my original characters._

 _PS. The teaser and the story was inspired by the Punisher show from and its origin story arc from Daredevil season 2 with my own twists._ _Now enjoy this updated prologue._

" _My name is Angela Coleman. I've worked for S.H.I.E.L.D., the largest and most powerful global intelligence agency in the world. I was the senior field officer overseeing the S.T.R.I.K.E. force. Shield was founded in the wake of WW2 intended to protect and serve people from the shadows."_

 _"Trouble was... our agenda was a little different."_

 _"A swiss scientist named Arnim Zola was the mole of a terrorist group known as Hydra, nazi science division that were recruiting government officials, politicians and government agents to serve their cause. And it continued on after his death in 1972. By then Hydra had successfully infiltrated Shield and the US Government to the point they had absolute control over everything and they had one thing in mind: Establish a new world order. they were also behind the deaths of my husband and both of my daughters which lead to my personal crusade on crime."_

 _"If there's one thing I learned through the years as an agent and a marine, the world is one giant tinderbox and all it takes is for someone to light the match."_

 **XXXX**

 **January 2015, Tempe, Arizona**

It was a cool evening in Temp Arizona as the former Arizona Senator Michael Harris, a middle aged man with his gray short hair went inside the limousine outside his mansion. His handpicked bodyguards checked the surroundings for any unwanted guests especially those from Shield. He was constantly looking over the shoulder since Hydra's inner circle fell.

"One batch." She recited one of her late daughters favorite books as she heard the incoming limo exiting the neighborhood. "Two Batch." she brought out a medium sized detonator. "Penny and Dime." She pressed a button on the detonator which trigged the bomb underneath the limo. The limo exploded as the fire soon consumed passengers and the driver.

 **XXXX**

 **Austin, Texas**

In an exclusive restaurant in upper parts of the city, a middle aged couple were having a wonderful evening, drinking wine that was of the highest quality and the best food that the restaurant they were in had to offer. Little did they know that the night of peace and equality would turn into night of nightmare.

just then the woman of the couple was starting to feeling little dizzy. She was starting to see double and soon enough the room started to spin as she collapsed to the floor convulsing uncontrollably.

The man who had the horror to witness the death of his wife, shouted to the guests for help.

"Somebody dial 911!"

One of the waitresses looked around the scenery before sneaking out to the front door, away from the scene, taking advantage of the panic and once she was at enough distance, she took off her wig and shook off her real hair. It was Angela Coleman with a smile on her face.

"Mr and Mrs Hendry. You really shouldn't accepted that fund from Gideon Malick." She mused, heading to her getaway car.

Poisoned drink, that never gets old.

 **XXXX**

 **JFK International Airport, New York.**

"Shit, how many of our operatives died there, you said?" There was a pause as the lister listened to what the caller had to say. Then the lister paled at the death toll. "It's worse than i thought."

Before the caller had the chance to inform, the door slammed wide open and in came Angela Coleman and the first thing she did was to ram his head into the bathroom wall, leaving him dazed. Realizing who it was, as he spotted the Shield emblem on her jacket. The hydra operative cowered under the cold gaze of the avenging widow. "Please. You've won. Hydra is on the verge of collapse."

Angela couldn't agree more on that, but there were some loose ends that ended to be tied up. "Almost." She muttered, tilting her head to the side.

"I get it. An eye for an eye and all that bullshit. I-I have a family of own."

"I don't." She retorted, blankly. She could care less about his family or not. Maybe a few years ago, she would've. Now.. Not much. "Didn't take that into consideration when you killed my family in cold blood, did ya?"

"For God's sake, killing me is not gonna bring yours back. What will it change?"

She took out a moment to think about what he said. It was true, no matter what happens to this lowlife, her husband and daughter would not come back from the dead. But there was no time to grieve now, she'd done it already. "Nothing."

Quick as a cat, she wrapped a tight wire around his neck, choking him to death. The man struggled trying to pry her hands off but with each passing second it became more and more difficult to do so as he was starting to see black spots. With a quick jerk, she twisted his neck with a snap.

 **XXXX**

 **Secure Shield Location, United States of America.**

Angela had just finished packing her duffel bag as she zipped it shut. She hoisted over her shoulder carrying it and left her room and headed towards the exit. She did her part and now it was time for her to leave. Taking the file that was given to her by Black Widow, Angela went to the left leaving the agency forever.


	4. One Less Evil In The World

**XXXX**

 **15 months later.**

 **April 16 2016**

 **Columbia University, New York.**

It was a regular day at the Colombia University where Nicole Reagan-Boyle or Nicky to her family and friends was at her seat at the 10 am lecture that was in progress. She was a 19 year old brunette freshman attending her mother's Alma Mater.

Subject of the day? Vigilantism.

"Vigilante, what names that comes into mind first?" Mr. Henry questioned his students including Nicky and soon enough a few students spoke up.

"Daredevil."

"The Punisher."

"Luke Cage."

Mr. Henry hummed in thought upon hearing the famous names. Interesting choices. "Now the term vigilante is associated with a person taking the law into its own hands. What is the common cause behind it?"

The brunette raised her hands knowing the answer already. After all, she grew up in a family of cops and lawyers. "Yes Nicole?"

"They were victims of a crime or someone close to them had been and no actions had been taken to bring the perpetrator to justice." Nicky said. Mr. Henry nodded in confirmation and Nicky felt slightly proud of having the correct answer. She always felt pride in being the top student like her mother.

"That is correct. Now I want you to turn to page 232..."

 **XXXX**

 **At the same time.**

 **Central Park, New York**

It was a sunny Spring Park in the City that sleeps. Angela was running as fast as she can pushing her body to the limit, trying to block out the sound of her daughter's laugh. It hasn't been a day, an hour or a minute that she hadn't thought about her family's deaths. It obsessed her, even now. So she ran faster.

 **XXXX**

 **Defunct S.H.I.E.L.D Safehouse, Manhattan, New York.**

Angela dropped the keys on the table once she was inside an old Shield Safehouse that was located inside the city. That's what the ex government agent had been doing since she ended her one woman crusade to wipe out the hydra agents that were responsible for her family's deaths, hiding in plain sight at a penthouse in Manhattan. The brunette contemplated of re joining Phil Coulson time and time again but decided against it. The agency meant nothing to her now.

She headed straight to the bathroom and took a shower, her mind drifting to the happier days of her life.

 _Her daughter Ava was running around the grass with glee in her eyes at a park in D.C. while Brian was playing catch up with her. Angela was looking on content of the life she was living. Once she got past her father, she ran up to her mother and hugged her tight._

Angela collapsed on the bed and was looking forward for a nap when she heard someone whispering into her ear.

 _"Mommy are you gonna read a bedtime story?"_

Startled, she shot up from her bed in fright at the sound of her oldest's pre-teen. Realizing that it was just an another hallucination moments later she let out a dejected sigh. So much for moving on.

 **XXXX**

 **54th Precinct**

Detective Sergeant and ex-marine Danny Reagan entered his precinct the day after his three month suspension had ended following a misconduct with a person of interest during a homicide case and he may have used excessive force on one of their suspects after they caught the murder suspect, IA had conducted the investigation and came to the conclusion that Danny had been in the wrong as per usual.

Despite having a huge record of the amount of cases closed, Danny was also notorious for his unconventional methods that has landed him in the hot water more often than not. It's a surprise with the amount of complaints he'd gotten over the years that he hasn't lost his badge.

Maria Baez, his long time partner looked up to see him heading to his desk that had collected some dust. "Welcome back partner. how was the unnecessary vacation going?"

"Wonderful." Danny muttered sarcastically taking his place at his desk across his hispanic colleague. "The only good thing about the suspension that it wasn't without pay or otherwise I would've been really screwed. What did I miss?"

"Not much, other than a homicide at 5th and Larceny at a local bodega at 10th." Baez informed. "It's been a slow couple of months."

"Ah. Anything else you'd like to share?" Danny inquired.

"Well, Alyssa Perlman is in Interrogation room 5. Pregnant I might add."

Danny stared at her incredulously. Alyssa Perlman was a former NYU student who fell into the wrong crowd and started to hit drugs hard following the death of both her parents in a car accident. She had many one night stands which resulted in multiple pregnancies. None of her children stayed with her for very long. "Again?" Maria nodded grimly. "Damn, that woman is like a real life bunny."

Maria scoffed as the two detectives rose from their seats and headed to the interrogation room. "You're telling me."

 **XXXX**

 **District Attorney's Office.** **Manhattan.**

 **"Not Guilty."**

The two words that every attorney in The state of New York hates to hear when the defendant was acquitted of the crimes he committed especially when it comes to the likes of Mark Jackman, the alleged boss of the Saint Crime Family. It was the fourth time in 3 years that he'd been not convicted and it did not sit well with the Assistant district attorney Erin Reagan. She was stomping towards her office, the high heels making loud noises on the floor. It really was a crappy day at the courtroom.

 **XXXX**

 **2 Hours earlier**

 _"With Wilson Fisk in Ryker's, someone had to fill in the void he left behind, right?" Erin asked her top witness Chuck Rossi who was on the stand while Jackman had a confident look on his face. "Is this man in the courtroom today?"_

 _"Yes."_

 _Erin turned to face the defendant with a smile. "Could you identify him for us, please?"_

 _"You got me counselor. It was me!"_

 _Now it was Jackman's turn to smile as the whole courtroom burst into laughter. The ADA was not amused, not one bit. Not to be deterred by the huge setback, she went to her table getting a piece of paper that had his statement written on it. "I have a sworn statement from you, Mr. Rossi that this man, Mark Jackman ordered the murder of Howard Saint so that he could be become the new head of the Saint Crime Family."_

 _Chuck scoffed, dismissing his original statement. "He's just a fall guy! I'm the brains of the organization."_

 _Irritation started to creep in, she supported a look of annoyance as the audience laughed again. She walked up to Judge Austin who also was irritated as he banged the gravel repeatedly to restore order. "Your honor, permission to treat the witness as hostile?" She requested._

 _"Granted."_

 _"Hostile? I'll show you hostile!" Rossi pulled out a handgun aiming at her chest as the courtroom gasped, freezing in horror._

 _And in a moment that was out of character for the attorney, Erin simply took it away from him and slugged him one right in the nose so hard he was nearly knocked out of his chair. She shook her hand off the pain that came from it. Those self defense classes she took paid off._

 _She took out the clip from the hand gun as she walked over to the defendants table as Rossi was being dragged out of courtroom by security guards._

 _"Carbon fiber, 28 caliber, made in China." She described the gun before placing the items on the table staring into crime boss's brown eyes. "Next time you try to kill a public servant, Mr. Jackman, I recommend you buy American."_

 _"Put this man into custody now!" Judge Austin commanded._

 **XXXX**

 **Now**

Once Erin entered her office slamming the door shut, she slumped in her chair with a resigned sigh. How did it go so wrong? She was so sure that she would have Jackman imprisoned following but unfortunately it didn't come to the fruition. She should've known that it was too good to be true. She was experienced enough to realize that something was fishy but if anything, it just made her more determined.

 _"You may have won this round Jackman but you will not win this fight."_ Erin thought to herself.

 **XXXX**

 **One Police Plaza**

It's been four years since the Invasion of New York had taken place and yet it felt like it happened yesterday. Commissioner Frank Reagan remembered that day all too well as he looked out of the office window.

He was reading through the reports at his desk when DCPI Garrett Moore burst through the door to his office, out of breath and urged him to look outside. What he saw was jaw dropping but he didn't show his shock of course. A portal above the Stark Tower. At first he thought to be an April fool's prank but the problem was April fools day took place the week before so he realized that it was real.

Everything changed that day. When he joined the force, all he had to worry about was gang wars, police corruption and serial killers. Now all the talk were about gods, aliens and everything in the middle. Things had changed for the better and worse. But he had to move on with the times and adapt to new surroundings. After all, this was his city and he was gonna defend it until his last breath.

A knock on the office door was heard causing Frank to turn his head.

"Commissioner. Councilman Conway is in the conference room for the 1pm meeting." Detective Abigail Baker informed him through the door.

"I'll be there in a minute, thank you." Frank told her. "As you were."

"Yes sir." Baker left and headed back to her desk while Frank sighed before leaving his office for the meeting.

 **XXXX**

 **Manhattan**

Jamie Reagan often wondered how different things would've been if he hadn't joined the force following his older brother Joe's death as he was eating hot dog for lunch. Maybe he would've become a top lawyer at a prestigious law firm defending people who were morally dubious. Who knows? But this was where he was supposed to be.

Growing up, his mother was adamant of not letting her youngest join the force so being the good son that he was, he honored her wishes by being valedictorian of his high school graduation and getting his degree in law at Harvard by being at the top of his class a month before his mother passed away in cancer. But Joe's death changed all that. In a weird way, he had a epiphany of sorts. What's the point of getting a degree if the occupation your mom wanted you to have didn't make you happy? Jamie hoped that his mom wouldn't be pissed off on his change of occupation but he'd like to think she wouldn't be.

Jamie finished off the hot dog and walked back to his police car where his partner Eddie Janko waited impatiently for him.

 **XXXX**

 **Brooklyn.**

"It's hard, man." Dennis Swanson, a retired Marine was talking about his struggles of adjusting to civilian life after leaving the Corps following an injury to his arm in a support group run by a former US Navy Officer Curtis Hoyle who was medically discharged following the loss of one of his legs during a tour in Afghanistan. "Sometimes I would wake up outside of my house in the morning and I wouldn't even know if I was still in Iraq or at home."

Curtis was listening intent along with others to his story as Dennis continued. "And there have been days where I felt disconnected from my friends and family. Like i'm physically here but my mind is somewhere else. I try to put on a smile and reassure my wife and kids that everything is fine when it isn't. "

Curtis hummed to himself. It's not unheard of given the trauma that these people had to endure. What the general population failed to realize these soldier are still your average joes and they suffer both physically and mentally for their freedom. That was why he started the group, to let them open up about their experiences. "How do I get better, Curt because it's just getting shitty and shitty each day?"

"That's the thing, Dennis. You have to figure it out yourself." Curtis said. "And trust me, things will get worse before it gets better but that's the part of life. You gotta move on."

 **XXXX**

 **20 minutes later.**

After the session had ended, Curtis were folding up the seats when Angela stepped into the room to greet her old friend. "Ya know when I heard that Curtis Hoyle had started a support group, my first thought was to bring Tony Stark here. He'll absolutely love it."

Curtis chuckled. The likely hood of that happening is a billion of one. If anything he'll have better luck winning the lottery than meeting Iron Man. Besides, he can probably afford 10 or 20 therapists. "Yeah, that's not gonna happen." He said, shaking his head with amusement as he placed them to the sides of the room.

Angela shrugged her shoulders. "Your loss."

They met in Afghanistan several years back, he was a medical corpsman for the US Navy and she was in the last month of her service at Force Recon, she was set to join Shield following her recommendation from her commanding officer. They became friends almost instantly. They promised each other to keep contact by exchanging their emails the day the brunette was due to leave her old life behind to start a new one in D.C with her family.

"Anyhow, how it's going for ya?" She asked, leaning back first against the wooden wall.

"Well, it's been good so far." Curtis answered her question honestly. "Had some interesting people coming in here that's for sure and the one denominator in all their stories is that they all try to be something they're not. The problem is if you're consistently trying to pretend that you're somebody else, you're in deep shit."

The brunette agreed on that. When a soldier comes home, they put on a brave face and try to reassure their closed one that they're fine. But the irony was that it ends up getting the better of them more often than not. "Amen to that, brother." She glanced at the wooden table that had some leftover plastic cups and coffee maker. "Mind if I take coffee?"

"Sure." The colored salesman said, Angela poured some coffee into the plastic cup she was holding. she took a sip from the cup and grimaced at the taste. It was not good quality.

"Ugh, you should get better coffee because this..." she held up the cup to illustrate her point. "Tastes like shit."

"It's all I can afford and despite what they say, being a salesman is not glamorous." Curtis told her grimly. Angela chuckled as she placed the cup on the table. "How are the nightmares?"

She froze slightly when he asked her about it. She initially thought about lying to him and tell him that everything was fine but then she thought the better of it. Curt probably has heard every lie in the book at the meetings so there was no point. "They're becoming less frequent. But I can still hear Ava's voice. Just... whispering." She admitted. "I would give anything to see her alive again."

"You know, it's been three years right?" Curt reminded her.

"It feels like yesterday to me." Angela murmured as a tear slid down her cheek, her mind drifting to the day she lost everything. She wiped it out harshly and trying to block the numb pain she was feeling.

Curtis sighed, seeing how it much affected her and the fact that she was reliving the trauma all over again. There was only thing he could do at the moment. Comfort her. He walked over to her and hugged the brunette. Curt was 6 ft 1 while Angela was 5 ft 9.

"It's not fair." She muttered into his chest.. "Ava was looking forward to celebrate her father's birthday."

"I know." Curt replied kissing the top of her head. "But do me a favor: Stop feeling sorry because if ya do, I'll take this fake leg off and beat ya ass." He quipped trying to lift her sprits up. And it seemed to have worked because she laughed slightly.

"You'd forget, I used to train with Captain America and Black Widow back at S.H.I.E.L.D. so I think the roles would be reversed." Angela boasted. Curtis scoffed, not believing her for a moment.

"Keep telling yourself that."

 **XXXX**

 **Hell's Kitchen**

"What should we do about the A.D.A., Boss? You know that she won't rest until you're behind bars, right?"

"I'm aware, Gino." Mark Jackman spoke in a slightly annoyed of the fact as he was thinking about his trial at his office that was inside the old shoe factory that was a front for money laundering in Hell's Kitchen. It's not like he'd forgotten it every 20 minutes. And If she's anything like her cop brothers or her father who is the commissioner, she'll stop at nothing to get what she wants.

Ever since Wilson Fisk was imprisoned, there was a huge power vacuum left in his wake. The Triads, the Yakuza and the Irish all tried to take control of the criminal underworld but their efforts were thwarted by the vigilantes residing in this city. And this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to take the throne. But it could turn upside down so quickly. So he had to be smart about his next move. Ordering a hit on Erin Reagan would be too obvious and it would bring unnecessary heat on him and his crew. So he had to go for a more subtle approach and he knew exactly how to do it to make sure that Erin would be off their backs.

"Gino, do you know the name Thomas Wilder?" Mark asked his second in command. Gino shook his head. "He was a serial killer who worked as a realtor. In fact he was the one secured this factory for us. I own him for that."

"Why are you telling me this?" Gino inquired confused of what his boss was going with this. Mark smirked as he went to get a card from one of the drawers.

"He has an axe to grind with the Reagan's and I have an offer that he can't simply refuse." He went to get one of many burn phones and pressed in the number to make the call. Gino had an uneasy feeling that this was not gonna end well at all for both parties.

 **XXXX**

 **April 17**

 **Tina's.**

When Angela was in the military, she usually kept her hair bob cut, a habit that hadn't left her. It made things easier for her to fight in hand to hand.

She was eating lunch at Tina's, a local diner located near the Hudson River the next day. She was one of the regulars that usually appeared on Wednesday. The ex Shield operative was looking out of the window seeing the river in it's glory. It was peaceful.

"Sorry Nicky. Cards Only."

Nicky, who was also an regular of Tina's, was going to pay for her order with cash looked surprised. "When?"

"Last week. Management made an unanimous decision due to high number of robberies that had taken place in this area. Sorry." The cashier told her with a apologetic look.

"Nicky?" Angela thought to herself. That name sounded familiar but she shrugged it off.

Nicki closed her eyes shaking her head with dismay. Today was not her day. First, she overslept because she had to turn in an assignment paper in at 12:50 last night, she barley made it to the first class and then a pigeon pooped on her head during a break. It took 30 minutes to wash it all off and on top of all that, She left her credit card back home before she left because she felt she didn't need it when it was lunch time. It was one of those days where everything that can go wrong did go wrong. "Can you at least make an exception? Just this once, Please?" She pleaded. But it didn't work unfortunately as the cashier shook his head no.

"Sorry. My hands are tied on this one."

"I can pay for whatever the kid's having." Angela offered as she went up to the counter and used her alias credit card to pay the price. Nicky was relieved that something had gone right today. And they say helping people in need was long gone.

 **XXXX**

As Nicky was heading back to campus with her takeout food in hand, A tall lanky man with a crazed look in his brown eyes was observing her from an alley. When he got the call that he was going to get some payback at Detective Reagan, he couldn't pass up on that opportunity.

 **XXXX**

 **Morningside Heights**

Nicky was taking a walk through the neighborhood after her last class had ended when a chilling voice spoke behind her back.

"Hello, Nicky." Thomas Wilder greeted.

 _"It's him."_ Nicky thought as she was about to scream Bloody Mary but Thomas Wilder put his hand over her mouth silencing her in process before injecting tranquilizer into her neck. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she passed out, the tranquilizer taking affect instantly. Wilder dragged her unconscious body into an alley looking around frantic to make sure that he wasn't spotted. He put her in the trunk of his car before closing it and hopped into the front seat and took off.

Unfortunately for Wilder someone did see him from a building rooftop. She was unable to follow him but she placed a tracking device on a bumper stick before he drove to his hideout.

 **XXXX**

 **Bay Ridge.**

Danny was washing the dishes at his home when his cell phone ringed in his pocket. Letting out sigh, he assumed it was his niece as he answered the phone.

"I know. I know. I won't forget the pork chops, Nicky."

The caller's voice however did not belong to his niece making the veteran cop's body turn rigid. _"I'm sorry. Nicky is unavailable right now. But she'll be pleased if you were to leave a message."_

The look on Danny's face darkened as he recognized the voice. It was one he hadn't forgotten in several months and most likely never will as long as he's alive. "Wilder."

 _"Hello, Detective Reagan. I've missed you."_ Wilder said as if he was greeting an old friend.

"Yeah, I've missed you too, asshole." Danny muttered sarcastically. His mind went mad but he kept himself together mostly for his niece's sake. "What have you done to her? Where's Nicky? **"**

 _"Oh don't worry about your niece. She's alive and unharmed. For now."_ Wilder told him, heavily implying that she doesn't have much time left which was bad.

"Leave her out of this. This is between you and me, you sick son of a bitch." Danny snarled, his voice was low and threatening.

 _"Do you remember the last time we spoke?"_

"Sure do." Danny thought, recalling their last encounter. When the serial killer/rapist reappeared after their first confrontation, Danny came up with an idea to use his mother who was abusive to Wilder during his childhood to bring him out into the. He and Baez tracked the call between him and his mom, got a location which was a boat at the Hudson River. By the time they got there though, the boat exploded. No body was recovered. Thomas Wilder called him not long after the search was over to gloat over the fact that he slipped through his fingers again and they'll see each other again.

 _"You used my mother as bait to lure me out. My mother. That was low, even for you. And that is something that I cannot forgive."_

"Listen to me very carefully..." Danny began but the call ended before he could finish his threat, leaving him enraged.

"Damnit!" Danny swore and then sighed looking up to the ceiling as he prayed to God for Nicky's safety.

 **XXXX**

 **Unknown Location.**

Not long after she woke up from her unnecessary nap, Nicky found herself bound and gagged as tears ran down her cheeks. She heard about Thomas Wilder of course, more than your average New York Citizen should given the fact he had a beef with her Uncle Danny due to some provoking statements he made about Wilder on Live television. Now she was terrified because she fit the type of victims that Wilder would go for.

"Did I ever tell you about my mother?" Thomas Wilder said as he took seat in front of her. "She was very creative in her punishments whenever I've done wrong. She would sometimes beat me with a belt, leaving bruises that wouldn't heal for days, sometimes she would dump me in the basement for hours thinking about what i've done and when she was in a really bad mood, she would use her cigarette to burn my back. She was hoping that it would make me stronger and it did. I'm grateful for it, aren't I mom?" Thomas said putting the emphasis on the word mom which left the Columbia student confused. Thomas had a wicked smile as he got up and headed to the freezer where he opened up revealing his mother's corpse. Nicky let out a muffled scream, eyes wide in horror. She was going to therapy for life if she makes it out alive.

 **XXXX**

 **54th Precinct**

Danny Reagan was not known to be a patient man and it was pretty evident as he paced the floor of his precinct back and forth while he waited for the tech to come up with a location of Wilder's whereabouts by tracking the call he had with that psycho.

Erin was petrified for her daughter's life as she was trying to keep herself calm. She was in her office doing some paperwork when she got the call from her older brother Danny. When he told her about what happened with Nicky, she dropped everything and headed straight to where Danny was without hesitation.

One of tech officers Ramirez walked out into the hallway to meet up with Danny who looked like a desperate man when he saw Ramirez. "Please, tell me you got some good news, Ramirez."

"I do and it's your lucky day, detective." Ramirez told him. "Wilder used Nicky's phone to call you which made it a lot easier to track via TARU. The call was made from Beach Channel Road."

That was all he needed to hear. Danny wasted no time to head to the exit with Erin following him and he realized that as he turned around and faced his sister. "Erin. Please, stay put. The last thing I need is you gettin' caught in the crossfire."

"Danny, if you think for one second that I'll just sit back and do nothing while my daughter's life is at stake, then you don't know me that well at all." Erin told him with fire in her eyes.

Danny let out a exasperated sign but nodded reluctantly. She was right. She may be a attorney but she's a mother and if someone dared to lay a hand on her daughter, she will move heaven and earth to protect Nicky at all cost. Besides, this was not the time nor the place to argue.

 **XXXX**

 **Beach Channel Road**

Wilder was taking his sweet time contemplating what to do with Detective's niece when he heard a knock on the door. Bemused, he went to the door pulling his gun out. He opened the door cautiously pointing his gun and the first thing he heard was...

"Peek a Boo."

The next thing he knew, someone struck him in the knee with a sledgehammer, causing immense pain as he felt his kneecap being dislocated. His scream startled the Columbia student that didn't expect someone else but she was more than relieved that someone had come to save her but what surprised her was that it was the woman who paid for her lunch earlier today. The assailant swung the sledgehammer again, hitting Wilder in the stomach and then across his face, leaving him dazed on the floor for the moment, blood dripping off his mouth. Then she struck him at his other knee just for good measure.

Angela who was the assailant that cut the serial killer to size, ran over to Nicky and used her knife she had in her jeans waist to cut off the ropes off her wrists and removed gag off her mouth. "You alright kid?"

Nicky who rubbed her wrist that were sore had a lot of questions. But she could only ask one. "Who are you?"

"Just a good samaritan, kid." Angela said vaguely. "Wait outside. I got a few questions to ask." Nicky didn't protest as she did just that, not wanting to be anywhere near Wilder anytime soon.

Angela used the sledgehammer again to prevent Wilder from getting to his gun that were few meters away from his grasp, paralyzing him from the spine up.

Angela kneeled in front of him, determined to get answers. "Who sent you to kidnap the girl?"

"Screw you." Wilder said.

"I won't ask again." Angela threatened.

"Go to Hell." Wilder spat. Angela shook her head at the stupidity of the man. When do they ever learn?

"Can't. I've already been there." The brunette told him coldly as she broke his right hand with the sledgehammer, breaking every bone in it. He yelled out in agony, cradling his broken hand. "I want a name."

Realizing that he didn't have much time left, Wilder decided to tell her, not out of desperation but to screw the Crime boss over. "Mark Jackman."

"The Mob boss?" Angela inquired.

"He wanted Nicky's mother who is ADA off his back. He's at the old shoe factory in Hell's Kitchen."

Having somewhat of a idea of where the factory was, Angela felt that she got the answers she needed, so she didn't need him anymore. "Thank you for your cooperation." Letting out a roar, Angela used the sledgehammer to smash his brain out. Nicky winced at every hit the samaritan made to Wilder, the beating continued.

Then it stopped. Curiosity getting the best of her, she peeked inside the room only to gasp in horror and back away of what she just saw.

Angela was standing above the body of Thomas Wilder, breathing heavily. His body looked like it was put through a meat grinder, his face was barley recognizable due to the amount of hits was made with the sledgehammer. That's one less evil in the world.

 **XXXX**

 **Beach Road Channel.**

Erin was in the front seat of Danny's police car with the aforementioned brother, sirens were wailing giving them a free way through the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge. Was she scared for her daughter? Yes. But she's also angry as hell and like they say in the Bible, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned or a mother in this moment of time.

"There!" Danny pointed to a sedan that was parked at the end of the road. "That's Wilder's car!"

Erin squinted her eyes to see that there was someone at the abandoned car, seconds later her eyes widened recognizing the figure. "It's Nicky!"

Danny stopped the car almost instantly and pulled the breaks before the Reagan siblings jumped out of the car and rushed over to her. Erin went to hug her tightly, relieved that her baby girl was safe and ok. Danny let out a breath of relief that his niece was unharmed. He wouldn't forgiven himself if he had her killed.

"Thank God you're alright, sweetie. Are you ok? Did he hurt you?" Erin asked, checking over Nicky to see if there were some physical harm done to her only child.

Nicky shook her head no, not saying a word but she pointed her finger to the building that she was being kept. Realizing that Wilder was potentially nearby, Danny told Erin to stay with Nicky and call 911 for backup as he ran off.

Reaching the building he walked down the hallway checking all corners. He will not be taken off guard this time. He saw that one of the doors leading to a room were open. He approached the room carefully popping his head to get a look inside to see a very gruesome sight that almost made him sick to his stomach.

"Holy Shit."

 **XXXX**

 **Hell's Kitchen.**

A guard was having a cig outside the entrance to the shoe factory as he was doing his night shift. It was nothing unusual. It was a poker night with the boys.

His shift came to an abrupt end as he was snuck up on and had his throat silt, violently. Blood came out of the open wound as he crumbled to the ground, dying within minutes. His killer stepped into the old lamppost that shined light on her face, revealing the killer to be Angela with a blank look wielding a knife.

 **XXXX**

The Saint crime family members were having a good time when the lights went out. Mark let out a sigh thinking that it was the old power generator that went out again.

"Gino, restore the generator, would ya?" Mark ordered his right hand man. Gino nodded, as he got up from his seat and headed to the exit but he didn't even make it to the doorway of the room before he was shot in the head and collapsed to the floor, red liquid pouring out of the bullet hole on his forehead as his eyes went blank. All hell broke loose as Mark and his men shot at where they thought the would be assassin were to be, bullets flying everywhere, hitting the supplies but they thought wrong as they were picked off one of one. Then the bullet rain stopped.

The lights turned back on and it revealed that Mark was the last man standing in the midst of dead Saints members lying around him. He was horrified as he did a spin, wondering where he/she was. Then she appeared, taking him by surprise as she grabbed his wrist, twisting it. She turned the gun on himself and squeezed the trigger with his index finger, blood staining the wall as the bullet pierced his brain through his eye, killing him instantly.

 **XXXX**

Having done what she was set out to do, Angela exited out of the factory as she took off the gloves that she wore to make sure that she didn't leave finger prints and walked into the streets keeping her head down. The kid and her family won't have to worry about facing the wrath of the Saints anytime soon.

 **XXXX**

A video frame of her walking away through the CCTV was shown on a computer screen as a tall black man in dark clothing who was wearing a eyepatch stared to the screen, taking a good look at her face with his one good eye.

"Welcome back, Agent Coleman." Nick Fury murmured.


	5. Trust But Verify

Chapter 2

Trust But Verify  
 **AN: In the previous chapter, there were mentions of Howard Saint from the Punisher 2004 and Gerry Conway who was a writer along with two artists that created Frank Castle in 1974. So expect more Marvel references throughout the story.**

 **XXXX**

 **2 hours after Thomas Wilder's death.**

 **Beach Channel Road.**

Danny had seen some brutal scenes in his long career, both as a officer and detective and that's not including Fallujah. This was one of them. The body that was once Thomas Wilder looked like it was ran over by a semi truck and it backed up and ran over it again. Nicky was being evaluated by a paramedic with his sister not leaving his niece's side.

"Danny." The detective turned to see Baez entering the room as the CSI team had finished searching the room for DNA evidence and fingerprints,which were nonexistent including the body of Wilder's late mother whom the coroner estimated to have been dead in a week, the freezer kept the body from decomposing. "I heard what happened and came here as fast as I could. Is Nicky ok?"

"She's fine, Baez, all things considered." Danny told her not wanting to think about what it could've been. She's safe and that's all that matters. "She's being evaluated by a medic as we speak."

The hispanic nodded sensing that he wanted to change the subject so she and her partner began to examine the body. "So, this is how the story ends for Wilder huh? Not by a cop or you which may be understandable but a vigilante, again."

"Yeah, like we need another of those people around." Danny muttered. Baez chuckled, amused. it was not a secret Danny was not a huge fan of vigilantes that has popped up in recent years, except one. But he wouldn't say, not matter how much she and his family tried to probe and prodded. His lips were tightly sealed. "I'll tell ya what though. Whoever did this, I'll buy our good samaritan a steak dinner for doing me a favor."

"I don't blame ya, Danny. I would've done the same thing if that pendejo kidnapped anyone from my family."

 **XXXX**

 **Meanwhile**.

Erin's phone ringed in her pocket startling her,the paramedic and Nicky. Sending them an apologetic look to them, Erin moved away from and checked screen to see who was calling her, the police sirens was heard in the background as she answered.

"Dominic, this is not a good time right now." She told her DA's investigator protege Dominic Andersson who made the call.

 _"I know. But I thought that you might wanna hear this: Mark Jackman is dead."_

And for the first time tonight the Assistant D.A had found herself rattled by the news. "What?"

 _"He was found with a bullet hole through his eye in the basement of an old shoe factory in Hell's Kitchen along with his crew." Dominic said. "And that's not all. They found 10 million dollars in laundered money. The factory was a front for their money laundering operation."_

Erin shook her head to clear her mind off the shock and keep it as clear as possible. "When did this happen?"

"Approximately, uh 9 pm."

"2 hours after Wilder." Erin thought to herself. It could be a coincidence, but if there's one thing she learned in her years as a prosecutor, there was no such thing as a coincidence. "Alright. Thanks for letting me know." She ended the call and put her phone in her pants pocket with a sigh. It was going to be a long week.

 **XXXX**

 ** _2013 Washington D.C._**

 _"Morning, honey. Slept well?"_

 _"Slept as best as I could. It's been a long week at work. But fortunately for us, you got the weekend off, so that means quality time for just the three of us."_

 _"I like the sound of that."_

 _Bang! "Brian!"_

 _"Hail Hydra."_

 **XXXX**

 **April 19**

 **Present New York.**

"NOOO!" Angela shouted as she woke up from another of her nightmares. She took deep breaths to control her erratic breathing as sun rays shone through the curtains in the bedroom. She went to get her phone that was on the bedside table and checked the screen to see how long she slept. 8 a clock in the morning which equalled seven hours of sleep. Well, progress at least. Not.

 **XXXX**

Hail Hydra. The two words that had haunted her since S.H.I.E.L.D fell following the revelation that Hydra had been inside the government agency since it was founded in the wake of the Allie's WWII victory 1945 two years ago. It made Angela feel physically ill to think all the work she did to stop the bad guys was for the bad guys. most of her former colleagues were either dead or had joined the other side during Hydra Uprising. So perhaps that what happened to her family was karma for the sins she had committed while working for the organization. Perhaps... she was the one who killed them. Indirectly.

The deep thoughts plagued her mind as she was on the subway train heading to Brooklyn with a somber look.

 **XXXX**

 **Harry's**

 **Brooklyn**.

Harry's was a bar that had been founded by an Irish Immigrant who fled to the states during the second world war and it had seen some history. The Civil rights movement, the Vietnam protests, the Cold War, 9/11 and the most recent, the Battle of New York.

Angela was drinking a glass of water at the bar in Brooklyn when her cellphone buzzed. She picked it up and saw on the screen that it was a unknown caller.

Frowning in confusion as she furrowed her eyebrows, she got out of the seat and walked to to a corner where she can talk without being disturbed. She pressed the green button, answering it. "Yeah."

"Remember what I told you on your graduation day from Shield Academy?"

Angela chuckled lightly as she recognized the voice. The voice that belonged to her old boss, Nick Fury, former director of Shield who she hadn't seen since D.C. "Keep your both eyes open, sir?" She guessed hoping that she got it right.

"That's right, Coleman."

"How are you holding up, sir?" Angela questioned her former boss.

"Meet me at Brooklyn Bridge park, then we'll talk."

 **XXXX**

 **20 minutes later.**

 **Brooklyn Bridge Park.**

Fury was sitting on a bench observing the people walking past him when one of his former top agents, Angela Coleman sat next to him.

"Sir."

"Coleman." Fury acknowledged her presence.

"Thought you were in Europe." Angela said, referring to him tying up some loose ends regarding some Hydra Sleeper cells that were still active.

"I was." Fury replied, subtly telling her that Hydra was all but vanquished which was music to her ears but she didn't show it. "Until I saw one of my former agents on CCTV walking out of that factory in Hell's Kitchen having killed a uprising crime lord and a serial rapist/killer in a single day." At the slight panicked look Fury was getting, he calmly reassured her. "Don't worry, I've erased the footage."

"Uh Huh." If there was one things she learned over the years of working with him, was that it he always had a reason to see her if it was important. "So care to explain why you're here or am I gonna keep guessing in my head?"

The former head of Shield didn't answer, instead he went to get something in his coat pocket and handed a file to her. She took it and examined it. "I'll let you read what I've found about your family's murder. I'll call you sometime tomorrow." And with that he left, leaving the ex Strike Team leader with more questions than answers. Did he found out more about it? Well, she wouldn't hold her breath if he did.

 **XXXX**

 **20 April.**

 **54th Precinct**

It's been three days since both Wilder and Jackman were found dead respectively and Detectives Reagan and Baez had literary nothing to go for. No finger prints were found at either of the crime scene, no DNA evidence. Nothing. CCTV was a no go because apparently some hacker had deleted the footage of Lady Punisher as the media called the prime suspect.

But they did find something: A connection between Thomas Wilder and Mark Jackman. It turned out that the alleged head of the Saints made a call to Wilder through a burn phone that was used on many occasions. In fact, prior to being exposed as the serial rapist, Thomas Wilder secured an deal for Jackman over an old shoes factory as a realtor several years ago. It made Danny sick to his stomach. Hiring a psycho to do its dirty work for him? What has the world come to?

Frustrated by the lack of progress in the case, Danny decided to leave the precinct 2 minutes before his shift was over and headed straight back home in a foul mood.

 **XXXX**

 **Manhattan District Attorney's office**

As Erin tried to focus signing some papers in her office, her mind couldn't help but wander to her daughter's mental state. Nicky hadn't said much since her kidnapping other than giving her statement to Danny and a vague description of the woman that saved her life and that made her worry slightly. She had been in Nicky's position a few times where you try to reassure everyone that you're fine when you're not. You're sometimes relieving the trauma in your dreams and that can take a toll on you. Erin hoped that Nicky doesn't try to find a destructive mean to escape from the trauma.

 **XXXX**

 **One Police Plaza**

 **Lady Punisher punishes Crime boss and Serial Killer in one day.**

Frank frowned at the headline on the front page of the NY Times paper in his office. Vigilantes. They can be a very difficult group to deal with especially in this day and age. There are some who claims that they just want to do the right thing and others who thinks that they are above the law. They can be a real headache if left unchecked. But in this case, his granddaughter's life was at a stake and a vigilante saved her life, not a cop. So it made him feel conflicted. On one hand he felt gratitude for the woman but on the other hand, it made NYPD look not necessarily incompetent, but bad in a sense, given all the negative press NYPD had gotten in recent years.

Speaking of Nicky, she hadn't said much since her kidnapping which was expected. Lieutenant Gormley informed him just over a hour after Wilder had kidnapped his granddaughter, a block from Columbus University and he left the Plaza to check on her. He hoped that she would open up about it, in time.

"Not even a full day and NYC is showing their love and support for a vigilante." Garrett mused while looking at his Twitter feed on his cellphone. "It's funny I looked at social media and a trend has started on Twitter. Hashtag: #LadyPunisher Bit redundant but catchy."

Seeing the look he was getting from his boss, Garrett backpedaled on what he just said. "But of course vigilantism is not tolerated as far you're concerned."

Frank sighed, putting the paper down on his desk. "And for a good reason. They walk a fine line between a hero and a criminal." He pointed out the obvious.

"I agree." Garrett occurred with what he said, not because he was his boss. "But does the actions of a woman praised as Hail Mary remind you of someone who works in 54th precinct? Bending the rules and using questionable techniques to save lives?"

"Unfortunately." Frank muttered, lips pursued as he thought back to his oldest son Danny. While he may have the highest percentage rate of closing cases than any detective in the force, there was no denying that there were moments where the former USMC let his temper get the better of him and his unconventional methods has landed him in the hot seat more times than he could count. But it's got nothing to do with this. "But this is different."

"Different? Was it any different when our founding fathers rebelled against the British? Or when Jack Ruby shot Harvey Lee Oswald just two days after the assassination of JFK?"

"Yes." Frank stated. "No man or woman is above the law. Period." Seeing the raised eyebrow from Garrett, Frank explained his thought process behind his argument. "If we start giving the vigilantes pat on their backs, it'll look like we're handing them medals for their criminal acts which will be bad for us." He had made his case and wanted to move on. "Have there been mentions of my granddaughter?"

Garrett sighed, slightly annoyed of the change of subject but he did as his boss requested. "Yes. Page 2 and 3." Frank turned to page 2 and 3 as he read the article that mentioned Nicky as the about to be victim of Thomas Wilder.

 **XXXX**

 **Shield Defunct Safehouse**

Angela contemplated whether or not to open the file that was on the table. If she did, it would open another can of worms that she didn't need. What's the point anyways? She had enough info to know that Hydra was responsible for her family's death so that was that.

It was just like any other day, she and her daughter Ava was preparing for Brian's birthday that was coming up in the weekend when the front door was busted open and the first thing she did when her mother instincts kicked in, was to keep her little girl safe as she went for her handgun that was under the sink in the kitchen. She put Ava in a closet before promising her that she'll be back. She took out the first intruders, expertly before being shot twice through both of her shoulders by their friends. It didn't kill her but it hurt like hell.

Everything was a blur then, she couldn't move but she heard the gutwrenching screams of her daughter as she was found before it was silenced. Then they moved to Brian as he heard the shots and tried to come to their aid only to be shot and killed on sight. Their biggest mistake they made was that they didn't finish her off before they left because after Hydra was exposed, she became an avenging angel, extracting vengeance on those who had wronged her.

She sighed as she walked away from the file. No point in going back to the past.

 **XXXX**

 **Columbia University**

Nicky was trying to keep her mind focused on reading a book in her dorm room but she kept thinking back to her captivity three days ago. So she gave up and placed it on her bed as she lay on the bed staring at the ceiling. For the past couple days everyone kept asking her if she was ok and she appreciated the concern but she just wanted to move on.

She's heard probably every kidnapping story that was told at the family dinner but as she learned over the past few days, hearing and experiencing it first hand are two different things. The first emotion she felt was fear when she saw Wilder and then terror because she was about to have her life cut short. Was it like this for her mother when she was attacked and nearly killed in her office six years by a convicted rapist or was it worse?

She sighed as she went to get her laptop underneath her bed.

 **XXXX**

 **South Bronx.**

"Who is your favorite superhero, Iron Man or Captain America?" Eddie asked her partner as they were on foot, patrolling the streets in the South Bronx.

Jamie looked at her with an perplexed look. "Why do you ask, Eddie?"

"Some of the guys at the precinct were having a debate of who's their favorite superhero. Some voted for Thor, others well..." Eddie grimaced at what she heard from her colleagues. "Let's just say they wanted to be with Black Widow for one night only."

Jamie chuckled briefly then thought about it. "Well, to be honest, uh I kinda feel sentimental for Captain America."

"Why because you're from Brooklyn as he was?" Eddie teased, nudging her partner.

"That and Pop used to know him from his tour days in WW2."

Eddie snorted unconvinced. "Yeah, right. Like your grandpa ever knew Captain America."

Jamie rolled his eyes at the skepticism. It didn't surprise him that Eddie didn't believe him, most of the guys downtown didn't believe him of course. "If you don't believe me, that's fine. You're gonna wish that you did."

Eddie scoffed. "I doubt it."

It was true to a certain extent. His grandfather had a few run ins with the Star Spangled Man with a plan during WW2. One in Nazi occupied Germany and another in Japan. The first time, he was in a special ops team sent to help the allies that were in dire need of assistance in Frankfurt and of course one in Saipan where the marines fought against the Japanese empire. Jamie remembered the stories that he would tell him, his dad, niece, nephews and his siblings when they were all younger about what was it like to fight alongside Captain America with a glee in his eyes.

"On a unrelated note, how's Nicky?" Eddie asked.

Jamie exhaled a breath thinking about his niece since her captivity at the hands of Wilder. He got a call from Danny on his day off about what happened and he went to the hospital where Nicky was being treated for shock to get the full story from his sister Erin. "She's fine."

The conversation ended with that sentence as they continued their patrol in South Bronx.

 **XXXX**

 **Bay Ridge.**

It didn't take a genius to figure out something was bothering her husband badly, usually it was case related. Linda, an Er Nurse at St Victor's hospital who had been with Danny since High School was observing him as they were cleaning the dishes after dinner during the evening. Their sons Jack and Sean were doing their homework at their room they shared together.

Danny was scrubbing the plate furiously, trying to remove a spot on the plate with a cloth before giving up, frustration evident in his eyes as he put the plate on the sink a bit forcefully.

"What has the plate done to you, honey?" Linda quipped.

Danny sighed, taking deep breaths to calm himself down as he rubbed his face with his hand, the years of stress of being on the force on his face was shown to her. "Sorry Linda. Just a bad day at work." He apologized for showing agitation in front of her. But it wasn't something that she hadn't seen before.

"Does it have to do with the Lady Punisher Case?"

At Danny's surprised look, Linda quickly explained to him how she found out. "Word travels fast in the ER."

Danny nodded. It's not like she was kept in the dark. "Yeah, it's got something to do with it. The trail has gotten gone cold and we don't have any solid leads on who the suspect is. It's like running into a brick wall where you can't find a crack on it to break it open."

Linda went over to him and gave him a peck on his check for reassurance. "You'll solve it honey. You always do."

"I know." Danny said then inhaled and exhaled a breath thinking about how crazy life in the City that never sleeps had gotten. "It's funny. When I became a cop, the worst thing that happened was 9/11 and now there's talk of ninjas, aliens, billionaires in iron suits, gods that can use a magic hammer, super soldiers, vigilantes and assassins working for the government. It feels like i'm starring in a comic book show."

Linda laughed at Danny's rant. "Well, we do live in interesting times."

"I know, babe. "

 **XXXX**

 **April 21**

 **Shield Defunct Safehouse**

 _"You haven't opened the file have you?"_

Angela sighed at the disappointed tone in Fury's voice when he called her the next day. "How you'd know?"

 _"It's in my job description, Coleman. Or it used to be."_ Fury told her the obvious.

 _"Of course it is._ " Angela thought with an eye roll. "Well, excuse me if I'm not being eager to open old wounds that hadn't healed, sir."

 _"Hoped that you wouldn't say that."_

"I'm not opening the file, sir. End of story." She stated.

 _"So you're not even the least interested in what I found?"_

"Nope." She replied, popping the p.

 _"Not even the fact there's a dvd of your old commanding officer from your time in the Marines, accepting a bribe from an ex KGB director who was an top ranking Hydra member?"_

And in that moment, Fury got to her: hook, line and sinker. Angela narrowed her eyes at that surprising info. "What?"

"I thought it might get your attention." Fury said. "Call me when you're finished with the briefing."

Fury ended the call leaving the ex marine puzzled for a moment or two before grabbing the file that rested on the table at the kitchen. She was about to get to the bottom of this.

 **XXXX**


End file.
